Automobile body



Jun 27, 1939. J; J ARDA AUTOMOBILE BODY Filed Dec. 7, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet l qwENToR jaarda BY 1 ATTORNEYS,

June 27, 1939. J TJAARDA 2,164,097

AUTOMOBILE BODY F'ilecl Dec. 7, 1936 5Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS June 27, 1939. J, TJAA DA 2,164,097

AUTOMOBILE BODY Filed Dec. 7, 1936 5- Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORI db/z/L 'aarc/a Y /%;NEYS

June 27, 1939.

J. TJAARDA" AUTOMOBILE BODY 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 7, 1936 INyENTOR c/b/L/L {Zr/68rd? ATTOR S 7 June 27,1939. J. TJAARISA AUTOMOBILE BODY 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 7, 1936 ow am I. O I SQ Q6 m 1| (ll a b. /v k Patented June 21,1939

PATENT 'oFF cE AUTOMOBILI BODY .John Thirds, Birmingham,

im Manufacturin Mich corporation of Hi Mich, alsignor to Company, Detroit,

Application December 7, loss. Serial No. 114.c1s s (e1. lac-1) This invention relates to motor vehicle bodies and more particularly to bodies of the unitary body and frame type. This application-is a comtinuation in part of my co-pending application Serial No. 72,721, filed April 4, 1936.

, It has been appreciated'that many advantages are attainable if the body and the frameof a motor vehicle are constructed as a unitary structure; and the separate power plant and running sear frame is eliminated. Accordingly, numerous tary structures have 'been provided in which load stresses are transmitted and distributed throughout the entire .body structure. whereby the upper body structure forms with the 16 base or chassis i'rame'members a unitary load carcass. While enabling certain advantages to be secured not found'in vehicles having separate body and. chassis, the above structures have proved to possess'certain disadvantages prevento ing universal adoption of said unitary body and frame structures. One of the most serious of said disadvantages was the necessity of constructing.

, such bodies much heavier and stronger. than it ,has been heretofore customary with motor ve- B5 hicle bodies. Very heavy and rigid skeletons or carcasses were found to be necessary in order to produce a unitary body and chassis structure capable of withstanding without objectionable distortions the loads imposed on the structures in m operation conditions. Attempts to make the structures lighter necessitated multiplying the number inf 'reeni'orcing carcass members and joints to an impracticable number,- thus unreasonably complicating the body structure, increasing the cost of manufacture. and causing obiectionable noises todeveiop in places of numerous junctures and joints. l

Oneofthe objects of the present "invention is to provide a unitary body and chassls'structure to in which the above-mejntioneddifliculties are eliminated without. sacrificing the advantages inv herent in such structures. 1

Another object of the invention is to provide a motor vehicle body oi'the unitary fram'eia'nd 5 body type in which'the number of reenforcing frame members is reducedto a minimum, part of the load stresses being carried by the shell of the body as 'well as by thepartitions having utilitarian functions, such as by the dashboard, and by; the partition passenger-and engine compartments of the vehlclei I A further object of the present invention is to provides novel and improved body for a motor vehicle having a rear mounted power-plant, in which b y t e e is pro id d w e d fra e n reference v ings forming a part ofthis specification wherein parts in the .severalviews. I j Fig. 1 'isal side elevation of a motor vehicle which the combined power and driving wheeis unit is mounted, said frame being secured at the rear of a passenger compartment,the construction of said, compartment being made dependent for.its strength on the strength of the 5 rigid floor structure, vertical side trusses secured to said floor structure, and astifl roof sheet connecting said side trusses.

Another object of the invention is to provide shovel and improved motor vehicle body which 10 is adapted to permit such suspension of the combined power plant and driving wheels units that the samemay be easily disconnected and removed either for repairs or for substitution. by a similar unit, and yet which in use is rigidly 16 attached to the body and transmits the driving and reactive forces to the body structure, as well as supports the weight thereof at such points thata desirable-distribution of stresses maybe eilected with a minimum number-ofbody frame 20 aud'shell members.

A further object of the invention is to provide a motor vehicle body with means for independent suspension of i'rontwhee'ls, which means are secured to the top surface of the floor structure as I and are substantially enclosed withinthe body of the vehicle. A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved motor vehicle body having means for such suspension'of the power so plant and wheels that the lower surfaces of the floor structure are substantially free from protruding parts, thereby permitting lowering the. floorstructure below the centers of the wheels,

thus ensuring greater stability of the entire veas hicle.

It is an added object of the invention to pro-v j vide a motor vehicle body of the foregoing char- -acter which has a few structural elements, is

simple and cheap to manufacture, particularly in 40 large volume and yet which is strong, practical in-iise, and is of improved appearance.

' pine; objects of this invention will ap enm. the. following description and appended claims,

being had to the accompanying drawlike reference characters designate having a bodyconstructed in accordance withzth'e.

present invention, the position ofthe combined power plant wheels unit being indieated by dotted lines.

2 is a longitudinalverticallectimal of the body looking toward the front thereof, section being taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 2.

- Fig.4 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the body looking toward the rear thereof, section being taken on the line l4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the floor structure'and rear engine carrying frame, showing the bulkhead to which the same are secured.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing details of the floor construction, and particularly the method of securing the reenforcing door pillars to the floor structure.

Fig. 7 is a detail viewshowing the method of securing the door pillars to the roof panel, as the joint would appear to an observer looking from the outsidev of the body.

Fig. 8 shows a similar joint as the same would appear to an observer looking from the inside of the body.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the floorstructure, the bulkhead, and the power plant supporting frame, together with the principal parts of. the power plant and rear wheels particularly indicating the connecting means between these elements and V the supporting frame, contour of the body and of the fenders being shown in dotted lines.

Fig. 10 is a front view of the floor pan.

Fig..11 is a sectional view of the floor pan, section being taken on the line "-4! of Fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is another sectional 'view of the floor pan, section being taken on the line l2-l2 of Fig- 9.

Fig. 13 is afragmentary plan viewpn an enlarged scale of the engine, the drive and the suspension with adjacent portions of the body.

Fig. 14 is a vertical sectional .view taken along the line ll-'ll 01' Fig. 13'in the direction of the arrows.

Before explaining in detail the present invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodimentsand of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, and it is not intended to limit the invention claimed herein design to oth r typ s of automobile vehicles, such for example, as to front driven vehicles with front mounted engines.

Referring to the drawings, the body constructed in accordance with .the present invention comprises, first, a rigid floor structure capable of' carrying considerable loads. A passenger com- I partment is built upon said floor structure by attachingthereto vertical door pillars and bracing or securing said pillars by a stiff roof panel. At the lower rear portion of the passenger compartment there. issecured a transverse hollow bulkhead of considerable, stiifness to which bulkhead the floor structure and the rear door pillars Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional vievv are securedly attached. To said bulkhead and to the rear pillar attached thereto is secured a rigid power plant supporting frame or cage composed of strong frame members. Thus, in a sense,the body structure is built upon said bulkhead and all the stresses resulting from the operation of the vehicle or its power plant are transmitted to and consolidated in said bulkhead. Now, since the power plant and the driving wheels, as well as the mechanism interposed between them, constitute a unitary structure and the same is mounted in said cage, the stresses and strainsresulting from the operation'of the power plant, such as forward thrust driving the vehicle, torque and brake reactions, and the like, are confined to said rigid rear frame or cage and are not transmitted to the entire vehicle body. This arrangement permits a very light construction of the remaining body portions, eliminating numerous reenforcing frame members which have heretofore been indispensable in unitary body and frame structures, and enabling the use of body panels, such as the roof sheet, for carrying part of the load stresses aswell as for forming the outside surfaces of the body. In other words, my invention permits constructing a vehicle body of such a character that the same possesses all the advantages of the unitary body and i'rame structure, eliminating at the same time most of the disadvantages which have heretofore been considered as, inherent in structures of the above character.

Referring more particularly to, Figs. 2 and 5, the numeral l5 indicates generally the bulkhead made of two flanged channel pieces l6 and I1 welded or otherwise secured together at their flanges. The side walls of the channels are cut out as shown at l8 and I 9 in order to decrease weight without substantially weakening the bulkhead. The floor structure comprises longitudinal flanged channels '20 and 2| attached by their extren'ilties to the lower channel I! of the bulkhead I5 and extending forwardly thereof. The channels 22 and 2| are braced in transverse direction by cross channels 22 and 22, similar in cross section to the lower channel I! of the bulkhead l5. End transverse channels 24, 25, 26 and 21 are aiflxed to the, opposite sides of the members '20 and 2| and appear as continuations of cross channels 22 and 22. The foregoing parts are preferably secured together by welding.

The outward extremities of the channels 24, 25 26 and 21 are adapted to be secured to the depending flanges 28 of the floor sheet or pan 29, shown in Fig. 6. The floor pan 2! extendsior- -wardly' of the bulkhead I! through the'entire remaining length of the'body' andis reenforced by a number .of suitably disposed ribs or beads 22, as can be seen in Fig. 9. The depending flanges 28 of the floor pan 2! are provided with outwardly extending flanges 2| to which is secured a rounded side channel 22, the lower flange 24 whereof is secured by welding to the flange 3| of .the floor sheet, while its upper flange 23 overlies the edge of the top surface of the floor sheet and is secured thereto by welding, see Fig. 6. A similar round along the other side of the floor structure.

Two vertical rear pillars 22 and 21 are secured by welding to the extremities of the bulkhead Ii, while two vertlcalintermediate door pillars 22 and 22 are welded to the upper flanges of the side members 22 and 25 and to the floor sheet 22 at the extremities, of the end channels 26 and 21, as shown in Fig.6. The upper ends of the ed side channel member is provided pillars it and 31 are'curved forwardly to form continuations of side roof rails Cl and II which extend forwardly and are secured to the front vertical members 42 and 43 which members are secured by their lower ends to the floor structure above the outward extremities ofthe cross chanhe] extensions 24 and 2!. Intermediate their extremities the roof rails II and ii are secured by welding to the upper ends of the front door pillars 38 and 3!.

Rigidity and strength of the body structure in transverse direction is enhanced by the panels forming'the shell ofthe body or by the sheets serving as partitions in the interior thereof. Such panels and sheets are exemplified, first, by the pressed metal roof panel ll which covers the entire top of the passenger compartment and is secured in anysuitable manner to'the roof rails III and 4|. The front portion of said roof panel terminates at the windshield 45, while its depending rear portion'is provided with an opening 46 for .the rear window, its rear edge. being adapted to be joined by welding with the sheet "covering. the engine compartment-l8. The sheet I1 is extended to form a partition-" separating the passenger compartment from the engine com-'- partment and'is secured at its lower edges to the bulkhead l5, itsrigidity being increased by pro vision of stifi'ening beads M. At the front of the passenger compartment there is provided a pressed metal dash Bl which in addition to its conventional functlonsalso serves as a reenfor'cing structural cross member of the body. The inclined foot board. 52 also contributes to the rigidity of the body'structure, besides presenting a comfortable foot rest for theoccupants'of the 'front seat of the vehicle. The rear seat pan ll secured to'the bulkhead l8 and to the floor pan also adds'to the strength of'the body structure.

Suitable, hinged doors are provided in the openings defined by f the pillars, 'fioor structure, and the-roof rails.

A luggage and spare tire compartment 84 is located in thei-present embodiment at the front of the passenger compartment and it is formed by con'tinuations of the side walls of the body compartment, dash Ii, floor sheet 2! and the top sheet 5!, the latter having an upwardly opening lid 56. Any desired shape maybe imparted to the baggage compartment. I prefer to make the same in a form resembling the engine compartment of conventional motor vehicles with front mounted engines. A grille 51 arranged at'front of the compartment serves for ornamental purposes simulating the conventional radiator grilles.

Horizontally extending members is secured at their extremities to the grille I! and the front v vertical members-42 and 48 cary a lid frame." to which the lid is hinged.

The engine andwheel supporting frame comprises longitudinal framing membersiland Cl secured to thebulkhead II and extending rearwardly therefrom, and a rear transverse framing member 2 connecting the rearward extremities ofsaid members II and Ii. Curved brace members ll, see Fig.2, secured by their respective extremities tothe transverse member; 62 and the upper portions of the rear pillars/ti and 81 respectively, are provided for resisting the vertically directed forcesactlng upon saidtransverse member I. Thus a strongand.='-' sufliciently rigid engine and drivingtvheels supporting frame g Y unitary engine'xand wheel assembly may be mounted-in any suitable is provided on which -the way:-v f li-preferred way of mountingsaid unitary supportin ,3 assembly is shown in Fig. 1, and is described in detail in my above identified copending applicae tlon.

In the arrangement mentioned the crankcase of the engine ii, the housing of the-clutch I and the transmission 01 are rigid with each other and with the housing of the final drive and differential OI lying directly behind the engine 05 and the transmission 61. The engine, the transmission and the clutch are arranged in line transm versely of the vehicle, their sides facing the front and'the rear of the car. On the side facing the front are securely bolted two largebrackets ll spaced far apart, one on the housing of the clutch V 68 and .one on the crank case of the engine 6! l5 near the end away from the clutch 86. Be-

sides carrying pivots fll for the longitudinal swinging arms Ii which carry the rear wheels, the brackets 08 serve as part of the means for mounting the engine and suspension assembly in 2Q- the body.

Each bracket 89 has a hole into which fits a 5 metal sleeve 12 containing aresilient rubber bushing-ll, the sleeve being retained by a set- ,screw ll in the bracket 69, see Fig. 14. The 2 bushing .13 surrounds an inner metal sleeve 15, which inner sleeve fits between the two legs or side flanges of a U-shaped bracket "a suitably fixed as by riveting to the bulkhead l5, and is secured thereto by a bolt which passes through the sleeve II and the legs of the bracket 18 and clamps them together. Rubber washers Tl (Fig. 13) are interposed between the side flanges of bracket IO and bracket 69 which fits between said flanges. As a result of the foregoing there is 3.;

no continuous metal to-metal path between the engine and su pension and the body at either of the brackets It.

The third point of support for the engine and wheel suspension assembly is provided by a tube 40 "rigidly-secured to the housing cf the differential and extending back on the center line of .the vehicleunder a fuel tank 1! to the rear 1 transverse member 2 which arches over it. The

.vehicle through the above mentioned brackets 30 65 secured to the engine and wheel suspension assembly. Each spindle I! is separated from its retaining bracket 6! by a pair of resilient rubber bushings, the spindle ll being so held .within and against the bushings by an appropriate nut, bolt 60. and washer assembly. The swinging of each wheel arm H is resiliently restrained by a cylindrical torsion bar 8.

lying on the axis of the wheel arm spindles ll and'having its opposite ends respectively secured 65. to the rotatablespindle II and to the fixed crank case of the engine t! (Fig. 13). The outer end of each torsion bar 8 0 is splined into the outer end of one of the spindles ID, the bar 8,. extend-- ing through the-spindle Ill to the center line of 70 the car and abutting the inner end of the torsion bar on the other side of the car. The point where the torsion bar 80 emerges from the hol- "llowspindle "is closed by a small bell-shaped 8i bolted to the side of the bracket 68.

Theinner ends of the two bars 80 are splined into a short sleeve 82 which is carried by a bracket 03 bolted to the crank case of the engine 5.

The above mentioned three points of. engine support are in fact supports for the combined engine and driving wheels unit, and therefore they receive allforces and reactions resulting from the operation of the engine and the driving wheels. Numerous advantages are inherent in the above arrangement. Since the distance between the points of application of said forces are very small and the cage is rigid, deflection of the structural members is very small and it is. substantially confinedto the rigid rear frame. cage and is not transmitted to the rest of the-body structure. The forward thrust of the driving wheels is received by the bulkhead i5 and is transmitted to'the rigid floor structure which is capable of withstanding such loads without appreciable deflection because of the negligible bending. moment produced by said forward thrust forces.

' The horizontal components of the forces apforces at the top of said pillars, and therefore,

plied to the transverse ,rear member 62 are transmitted by the members 60 and SI to the bulkhead l5, while the vertical components of said forces are transmitted by the members 63 to the vertical pillars 36 and 31. It is important to note that the bending moments produced by the action of said members 63 on the pillars 36 and 31 around the lower ends thereof can be balanced by the application of verysmall resisting the roof sheet 44 andthe front pillars 3B and 39 are capable of exerting such resisting forces without any substantial deformation. Tings, forces of high magnitudes resulting from application of forces on said transverse rear member 62 are still localized in the rear cage and in the bulkhead l5. 1

The front wheels are also individually sprung and are carried by the transverse preferably 'pects my invention contemplates providing aassembly is. mounted on tubular member 89 secured to the floor structure at the front of the vehicle. Thus the operative forces transmitted to the vehicle body by the front wheels are also received by the floor structure and are not transmitted vertically to other structuralelements'of the body. Thuspremature destruction of the body as well as the development of objectionable noises therein are prevented.

A suitably shaped rear panel 84 is provided to cover the engine compartment and the same is provided with a hinged lid 85 permittingaccess to the engine. Rear and front fenders are provided at the front and driving wheels, respectively, as indicated in Fig: 9. I prefer to make the front fenders terminating adjacent the front edges of the doors, said doors being contoured to form continuations of the contour of said fenders (see Fig. 1). Thus considered from one of its broader-asnovel unitary body and chassis motor vehicle in which the unitary engine and driving wheels 9. special rigid frame,

the stresses and strains resulting from the operation'of the engine and driving wheels being carried by-the rigid floor structure, whereby numerous reenforcing members heretofore indispensable in passenger compartments of the unitary chassis'and body structure are eliminated and contour forming panels may be utilized to carry part of the stresses induced in the possenger compartmentstructure.

' members, a

I claim:

1. In a motor vehicle of the unitary body and chassis type having a e er compartment, a transverse bulkhead, a-rigid frame secured to said bulkhead, a combined power .plant and driving wheels unit secured to said bulkhead and said frame, a reenforced floor structure secured to said bulkhead, said floor structure adapted to resist the driving thrust, a plurality of substantially vertical members secured by their lower extremities to the floor structure substantially at the longitudinal edges thereof, and a pressed metal roof sheet forming the salev connecting means transversely between the top extremities of said vertical members. l

2. A unitary body and chassis structure comprising a transversely arranged bulkhead; a rigid floor structure secured to said bulkhead and extending forwardly therefrom; two substantially vertical rear door pillars secured by theirlower extremities to the extremities'of said bulkhead, their upper portions being curved forwardly and carried toward the front of the body; two intermediate door pillars secured to said floor structure forwardly of said rear pillars and secured 25 of said forwardly curved rear pillars; a roof panel covering the top of the compartment defined by said pillars and forming the sole transverse connecting means between the upper V extremities of said intermediate pillars.

. 3. In a motor vehicle, a transverse bulkhead at the rear thereof, a rigid frame secured to said bulkhead and extending to the rear thereof comprising longitudinal side members and a cross member connecting the rear ends of the side transversely extending power plant supported at two transversely spaced points upon .said bulkhead and-disposed in rear thereof, a longitudinal member connected 'to said cross member centrally thereof and providing a third point of support for the power plant, and a pressed metal reinforced floor structure secured to said bulkhead and extending forwardly thereof and adapted to support the non-driving wheels, said bulkhead being adapted to receive the major portion of the forward driving force produced by said driving wheels and to transmit the same forwardly to said floor structure.

'4. In a motor vehicle, a transverse bulkhead at the rear thereof, a rigid frame secured to said bulkhead and extending to the rear thereof come prising longitudinal side members and a cross member connecting the rear ends of the side members, a transversely extending power plant supported at two transversely spaced points upon said bulkhead and disposed in rear thereof, a longitudinal member connected to said cross member centrally thereof and providing a third point of ,support for the power plant, a pressed metal reinforced floor structure secured to said bulkhead and extending forwardly thereof and adapted to support the non-driving wheels, said bulkhead being adapted to receive the major portion of the forward driving force produced the jrearthereof, driving wheels connected to said 7 head and. extending forwardly thereof and adapted to support the non-driving wheels, said bulkhead being adapted to receive the major portion of the forward driving force produced by said driving wheels and to transmit the same forwardly to said floor structure. 7

6. In a motor vehicle, a transverse bulkhead at the rear thereof, a rigid frame secured to said bulkhead and extending to the rear thereof comprising longitudinal side members and a cross member connecting the rear ends of the side members, a transversely extending power plant supported at two transversely spaced points upon and transmit the same forwardly to said bulkhead and disposed in rear thereof, a longitudinal member connected to said cross member centrally thereof and providing a third point of support for the power plant, a pressed metal reinforced floor structure secured to said bulkhead and extending forwardly thereof and adapted to support the non-driving wheels, a pair of rear driving wheels having swinging wheel carrying arms, a common means for mounting said power plant and arms to ,the bulkhead, said bulkhead being adapted to receive the forward driving force produced by said driving wheels said floor structure. 1 V

7. A motor vehicle according to claimv 6 in which said means comprises transversely spaced brackets secured to'the bulkhead and providing.

two spaced points of support for the power plant.

8. -A motor vehicle according to claim-6 in which said bulkhead comprises a hollow box-like unitary member and in which said means provides two spaced points of support for the power plant.

JOHN TJAARDA. 2B 

